A dog owner who kept coming home to find his bedroom in disarray has caught the four-legged culprit on camera.
TikToker jpizzle_97 set up a GoPro after repeatedly finding items of clothing strewn around the room and his pillows messed up.
Once the camera was installed, it became clear what had been going on—with the footage suggesting that dogs really miss their owners when they are gone.
In the video, which has been watched 6.1 million times, the TikToker’s dog Hank—a German shepherd and Nova Scotia retriever mix—can be seen exploring the bedroom, before climbing up onto the bed and staring intently out of the window.
After apparently growing bored of his new vantage point, Hank decides to go sniffing around his owner’s closet. A few minutes later, he emerges with a pair of shorts, delightedly leaping onto the bed with the item of clothing.
With the shorts in his mouth, Hank heads towards the four pillows at the top of the bed. He then proceeds to snuggle with the shorts, eventually drifting off for a doze with them cuddled close to his chest.
Research suggests that dogs really do miss their human companions when they go out for the day. A 2011 study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science demonstrated that even dogs with no history of separation anxiety would greet their owners with extra enthusiasm and be particularly attentive when they returned home after two hours or more.
For many watching on social media, Hank’s behavior and the fact he took an item of his owner’s clothing to sniff at, in place of a comforter, were proof he was pining after his human companion.
“Awww they like to have your scent around,” Woah.Nellly wrote. “My dog would steal socks.”
Muuullyyy agreed, writing: “He just missed his daddy!!” Babynayaaaaa posted: “These are his emotional support shorts.” Valarieem offered a similar theory: “they are a comfort blanket.
Margarita Prasca noticed another detail about the clip, highlighting that Hank seemingly “sat on the edge of the bed” waiting to make sure his owner was “not coming back” before running riot.
Jocelyn Bacon offered an alternative theory for Hank’s behavior, claiming that a vet had told her it was “a protective thing.” She added: “Your scent is on them so doggie is trying to protect you.”
Jac_of_diamonds, meanwhile, struggled to hold back the tears. “This makes me wanna cry!” they wrote. “They just miss you so much and love you. They want your scent and want to play.”
DaleLee thought it was the “sweetest thing” and Brenda Zendejas commented: “aww, how adorable.”
In a follow-up clip, Hank’s owner tried to prevent his antics by closing the closet door.
That did little to stop the determined dog, who duly opened the closet before running riot again. Worse still, this time he got his paws on some toilet paper.
Bring your dog to work day can’t come soon enough for this pet owner. Newsweek has contacted jpizzle_97 for comment.
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